Thursday, August 20, 2009

Juicy, plump blackberries! Who could resist them on a sunny summer morning at the local farmers' market? Not me! I happily paid the farmer and poured them into a bag, carefully carrying them as I rode my bike home. I rinsed them, nibbled a few, then started making muffins!

The muffin batter is pretty standard with buttermilk, flour and all the rest. A little lemon zest brightens the flavor and a crunchy pecan-sugar coating makes these babies irresistible. And they're simply chock full of fruit. So they're healthy, right?

Blackberry muffins

For the topping:

1/3 cup sugar

3 Tbsp. flour

Grated zest of half a lemon

2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped

For the muffins:

2 cups flour

3/4 cup sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

Grated zest of 1/2 a lemon

1/4 tsp. salt

1 egg, beaten

5 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

1 cup buttermilk

2 cups blackberries

Preheat oven to 375F. Line 12 muffin cups with liners or butter them.

To make the topping, mix together the sugar, flour and lemon zest. Add the butter and mix until combined. Mix in the pecans and set aside.

To make the muffins, combine the dry ingredients, including the zest. Add the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Gently fold in the blackberries, trying not to break them. Don't overmix.

Divide the batter among the 12 muffin cups. Sprinkle the topping over them.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes on a wire rack.

NOTE: you could very easily substitute other berries in these. Blueberries would be excellent with the lemon zest as would raspberries. Or try a mix of berries!

What a yummy recipe. Do you ever notice a big difference when you substitute whole wheat flour? I made blueberry muffins a while back and used whole wheat flour and it turned out heavy, but I also used yogurt instead of buttermilk, so I think that was my folly. Just curious as to your own experiences with substitutions.